Love, slowly stripped away
by buongiorno
Summary: Larsa/Gabranth. Larsa dealing with Gabranth's death. M for shota and references to shota-like sexual occurrences. I still suck at these things.


Just a short little angsty Larsa/Gabranth thing I wrote a few months back. I'd originally wrote this on a different site, but changed the story dramatically. I pretty much wrote an alternate story to this story, so if anyone finds it familiar, that's probably why.

**Disclaimer: I do not own FFXII. FFXII is owned by Square-Enix. I make no money from this story's publication.**

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It seemed like such a wonderful day. The sun was shining, bright and warm. The skies were clear, and the temperature was mild. Not too hot, not too cold. The wind was minimum, creating a nice breeze every now and then to cool things off. The birds were out singing, and the townsfolk were all in a bustle. Laughter and idle chatter filled the streets below House Solidor. All seemed well, yet it wasn't.

Never again would I feel his warm, strong embrace. The arms I loved to be held within, where I felt safe, loved, secure. Never again, never again. The thought made my head ache. It pounded against my skull. It was desperately telling me to stop thinking about things such as this. It was hard, however, because I was staring straight at the source.

Gabranth was dead. I had watched the life fade from his face, accompanied by his brother, Basch, who was now my "new" Gabranth. Since the are identical twins the task should be easy enough. Yet, never again within my lifetime will I be held by _my_ Gabranth, _my_ Noah. Only by this...this impostor.

"Please look after Lord Larsa," my love had spoken to his brother. "I entrust him to no other's care."

I rubbed my temples. At the same time I was fighting back the tears that threatened to consume me. If I fell to pieces now, the others would surely become suspicious. Emperors did not cry; they weren't allowed to. Basch then came up from behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. My initial reaction was to smack the hand away, but my hand just lingered above his.

No more sneaking around. No more falling into bed and letting myself be completely dominated, completely consumed by the man I trusted my entire being with. No more of that glazed look in his eyes upon waking up in the morning. The soft kisses and pats on the head were a thing in the past now. And he died by the hands of another man I _should_ have been able to trust. My own flesh and blood: Vayne Solidor. My brother Vayne had struck my lover down before my very eyes. He also had died, yet he brought that fate upon himself. His death did not effect me much at all after witnessing such an event. All I seemed to care about at the moment was Gabranth. What I wouldn't give to see his smile once more, or him telling me I had done well at whatever it was we were doing.

"Larsa," came Basch's strong voice. "I know this is difficult for you." His voice grew dim, and he lowered his head to my ear. "I...know my brother was more than your 'guardian.' The look he gave you before he passed on was more than enough to tip me off." His grip on my shoulder then intensified. "Please remember that I grew up with him. Him and I were, and still are, not that different when it comes to those matters."

What exactly was he doing now? My heart began to race. Was he actually trying to jump on his deceased brother's goods?

"I mean not to confuse you, my Lord," he continued. My facial expression must have changed, because his words came with a smile. "I have no intentions on claiming you for myself." He looked up to his brother's coffin. "My brother deserves nothing but respect, and respect him I do." He removed his helmet, and locked eyes with me. I nearly began crying right then and there. He was there, right in front of me, with everything aside from a battle scar across his brow. My body longed for his, but my mind stopped me. It reminded me that this was Basch, not Noah. Basch. Basch. Basch. Noah was dead. Noah was gone. Noah was no more. I covered my eyes. My emotions had won. I choked. The tears were falling.

"Bloody hell," I cursed. "Bloody hell," I cursed again. "Bloody hell!" My fist flew to the wall beside me. Basch had let me go long before I had noticed, but his eyes were still fixed on me. I met his gaze once more, feeling the second wave of my emotions coming fast.

"My apologizes, my Lord." He repositioned his helmet upon his shoulders. "I should have been more wary of my resemblance to Noah." He his eyes regained their focus on the coffin.

"No," I choked. "It is fine. These emotion would have only surfaced as night inched closer." I wasn't going to lie to him. I also didn't think I had to explain my reasoning. He'd already known about us. I trusted him enough to know the secret was safe. I had not much to fear, anyway; I ruled the empire now. The clinking from that ridiculous armor came over my shoulder. Basch had taken his helmet off once more. I watched him approach the coffin, kneeling once he was close enough. He took Gabranth's still hand and kissed it, caressing it against his face. My head began to ache once more. I'd been selfish. Basch must feel even worse than I do. Deciding that the time for being a child had passed, I called out to him.

"Basch..." My hand reach for his shoulder as I began my march toward the two siblings. Mentally, I was preparing myself for the sight of them up close to one another. Basch twitched under my touch. He looked to me, his brother's hand still clasped between his own. He wore the same icy ston-hard expression Gabranth always wore. My chest began to heave.

"Lord Larsa, is the comparison too much for you?" He kissed the hand a final time and set it down, coming up off his knees.

"No, thank you," I replied. "And even if it were, I would dare not tear you away from him." My heart ached when I spoke those words, but it was fact: Basch was Gabranth's brother. It was a bond I had no place between. I tried to smile at him, but he didn't look. He was thinking. I knew not of what, but I knew. Gabranth had the same look during the younger portions of our taboo of a relationship. Always worrying about being caught and such...

I smiled at the thought, yet when I reached out into the coffin and made contact with Gabranth's hand, it faded. It was cold, lifeless. I knelt down and brushed it against my cheek, just as he would when I'd hold his hand. I kissed it softly, wishing that it would caress my face, wishing that his eyes would open once more and his face would light up with a smile. But the dead do not smile. The dead cannot move on their own, or open their eyes. Their eyes are forever rolled into the backs of their heads. My grip on my lover's hand intensified.

"My lord." Basch placed a hand on my shoulder once more. "I'm afraid we must be heading out. Your meeting with Queen Ashelia draws nigh." I let out a long sigh and stood back up. Kissing my lover's lifeless hand once more, I placed it back on his chest. Basch went over toward the entrance doors and pried them open. He stood watch, as usual, as I took one last look at Gabranth. The maids were now replacing the glass encasing to his coffin, and from the way the sun reflected off it I swore I saw him smile. Both hands raised to my eyes and I rubbed them. I was in absolutely no mood to deal with a conference right now, but it comes with being an Emperor. Basch bowed as I approached the doors.

"Are you certain you don't want to take one last look at your brother, Basch?" Basch smiled and gave a soft chuckle.

"No," A hand rose to pat me on the head. "I'll come back later and have my final time. There's some things I'd like to tell Noah with privacy." He took a deep breath, and placed his hand back by his side. "Well, now. Shall we be off?"

I nodded, and exited through the doors. Still, even when Basch had closed the doors behind himself, I looked back. Maybe I'd come back later, also. Of course not when Basch was there. Maybe a bit before that. I still had some things of my own I wanted to tell Gabranth.

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How'd ya like it? I know some people aren't into shota, but with Larsa it's different. He doesn't really act like a twelve year-old. In some points he does, but he acts more like a seventeen year-old to me. Which...would still be considered shota, given Gabranth's age of thirty-six. IDON'TKNOWD: I just love Gabranth/Larsa.

So yess, reviews and such would be appreciated :D3!


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